Arm shackle



Clarence 0. Par/(er FIG.

FIG. 2

C. O. PARKER ARM SHACKLE Filed Dec. 28, 1948 July 3, 1951 Patented July 3, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARM SHACKLE Clarence 0. Parker, Shawnee, Okla.

Application December 28, 1948, Serial No. 67,585

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to a shackle or fetter for installation around a human elbow in order to limit the bending movement thereof.

The device is particularly designed to break children from the habit of sucking their fingers or thumbs, and to prevent their putting improper objects in their mouths, and also to remind persons of more mature age, of what they are doing, who are in the habit of biting their finger-nails.

The prime object of the present invention is to provide a removable elbow shackle which is comfortable to wear, easy to remove and replace, and which is comparatively cheap to manufacture.

A further object is to provide an article of this class which has sufficient strength to positively prevent small children from bending their elbows to such an extent that their thumbs can be placed in their mouths.

Most persons who are in the habit of biting their finger-nails, do so unconsciously, and most of them are desirous of breaking the habit. All they need to break the habit is something which will make them aware of their actions, each time they start biting.

With the present device properly installed, such persons can bend their elbows to some extent, but bending the arm sufficiently to get their hands to their mouths will require conscious effort. They therefore cannot bite their fingernails unconsciously. If they do so while wearing 3 the device, they must do so deliberately.

Another object is to provide a device which is adapted to be taped in place with conventional adhesive tape, thus making it a simple matter to install and remove the device.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of the device properly installed upon a human elbow, the arm being shown in dotted lines; and,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through the device, the view having been taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral l indicates, as a whole, a human arm having biceps 2 and a forearm 3.

The device of the present invention is adapted to be installed flatly on the inside surface of the elbow of the arm I, and consists of a substantially flat plate 5 or sheet of semi-leather, pressed fiber board, heavy paste-board, or the like. If desired, the plate 5 may be initially formed in a slight arc to comfortably fit the contour of the arm upon which it is to be worn.

Adjacent each of its ends, the plate 5 is provided with a plurality of spaced through perforations 6. When so formed, means for removably attaching the plate 5 to the armare provided in at least two strips 1 and 8 of conventional adhesive or other tape. The strips each extend along the upper surface of the plate 5 from one perforation 6 to the other, as shown, and may be then threaded through the two perforations between which they extend. The strips 1 and 8 have sufficient length that their end portions may be passed around the arm to lap over the back thereof and there fastened. In installation, one strip is placed around the arm' above the elbow knuckle, and the other below the same. The degree of tightness with which the strips are drawn governs the elbow bending movement permitted.

By making the strips 1 and 8 of an adhesive material the plate may be somewhat loosely installed and will yet remain in its proper place. This would obviously add to the comfort of the wearer. It is obviously an easy matter to replace the adhesive strips when they become soiled; and to provide other non-adhesive tape and tie the ends when desired.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

An anti-bend shackle for a human elbow, including: a semi-rigid plate which is arcuate transversely to fit the inside surface of a human elbow; laterally aligned sets of transversely spaced perforations in said plate; an adhesive strip for each set, said strips each adhered to the outer surface of the plate and extending between the perforations of a set, each strip passing through the perforations between which it extends, and having free end portions of sufiieient length to pass partially around a human arm and to be adhered to the outside thereof.

CLARENCE O. PARKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,845,630 Scholl Feb. 16, 1932 2,211,203 Goldman Aug. 13, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 371,589 Great Britain Apr. 28, 1932 

